HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879
Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2023
Vol. 144 No. 35
EFSEC: Goldendale solar project could have adverse impact LOU MARZELES EDITOR The Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) says it believes the Carriger Solar Project—a proposed sprawling array of solar panels just outside Goldendale—may have “significant impacts” on the environment and is considering issuing a determination of significance. EFSEC Director Sonia Bumpus made the statement in a letter to Carriger principals dated August 11, 2023, adding that according to guidelines established by the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), “significance” is defined as “a reasonable likelihood of more than a moderate adverse impact on environmental
CARRIGER SOLAR PROJECT SITE
NOT AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS HERE: The Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) says the proposed Carriger Solar Project near Goldendale has potential for “significant” environmental impact. quality.” Significance is further clarified to mean that while an impact may not be highly likely, “the resulting environmental impact would be severe if it occurred.” “In accordance with Revised Code of Washington 80.50.090,” Bumpus’ letter continued, “EF-
SEC is notifying you of this anticipated determination and providing the Applicant ‘the option of withdrawing and revising its application and the associated environmental checklist to clarify or make changes to features of the proposal that are designed to mitigate the impacts’ that are the
basis of our anticipated determination.” EFSEC identified two primary points for which potential adverse impacts were anticipated: cultural resources and visual aesthetics. On cultural resources, EFSEC cited key objections to the Carriger project from the Yakama Na-
ZACHARY VILLAR FOR THE SENTINEL
ZACHARY VILLAR
DANCING IN THE PARK: Rena Engel and Jack Roberts dancing at the annual Klickitat County Senior Services Picnic in Daubenspeck Park. pervisor for White Salmon Valley School District before her death in 2014. “She was a very important figure in this area. She was very dedicated to the school and school bus safety. She was well known in Oregon and the State of Washington.” Rena Engel and Jack Roberts were dancing arm in arm to the music. Engel and Roberts both travel in from outside Klickitat County to enjoy the meals and social events held here for seniors. Engel came from Stevenson, Washington, and Roberts came from The Dalles, Oregon, and they both are regular visitors to the free senior meal served at the Pioneer Center in White Salmon every Wednesday. Engel has lived in Stevenson since 1947
and said the KCSS is a wonderful organization. She enjoys these kinds of events. “We wouldn’t miss it,” she enthused. “We like the dancing, we like the music, and we like the food.” KCSS is a county-provided operation whose mission is to provide services to enhance the autonomy and independence of the elderly and other adults in the community, whatever their present level of functioning. It also operates the Mt. Adams Transportation Service (MATS), a system of buses designed to provide an alternative transportation resource to Klickitat County residents. “We have a number of different programs,” said KCSS Director Sharon Carter. “A lot of those
are geared towards seniors. A lot of what we do is help connect people to various state programs they might be eligible for that could provide support in their homes. We also have staff that are trained to [assist with] some of the details of Medicare and Medicare insurance. So a lot of time is spent in helping people to go through the process when they’re aging into Medicare, understanding social security, dealing with those kinds of things, and also helping look at different Medicare prescription drug plans.” KCSS also helps educate people about other programs and services within the state and county such as accessing local food
See KCSS page A8
Two trucks crash into Columbia River LOU MARZELES EDITOR What are the odds? Two different semi trucks took dives into the Columbia River just hours apart over the weekend at Biggs, just down the road from Goldendale. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) closed down a stretch of I-84 westbound Monday for hours to extricate the vehicles. The first truck left the highway about 9 p.m. Friday night after hitting an abandoned car
tion. “The Yakama Nation staff have stated that, in their opinion, the Project as proposed is likely to have significant impacts to Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs) in the area,” the EFSEC letter stated. “The Yakama Nation have informed EFSEC that they are aware of TCPs in the vicinity of the Project Lease Boundary that they anticipate will be adversely impacted by the construction and operation of the Project. The Yakama Nation staff have indicated that additional analysis for the Project area and surrounding environment will be necessary to fully identify, assess, and classify these impacts.” EFSEC referenced the tribe’s centuries of losses stemming from non-native interference. “The Yakama Nation has also expressed that they view any impacts to TCPs as significant due to the historic degradation and scarcity due to loss of these properties through the last several hundred years of colonization and development of non-native populations and that effective mitigation for further impacts to TCPs may not be available,” EFSEC said. “This analysis is necessary to identify where avoidance or other mitigation may be possible. In nature, these impacts may be direct, indirect, or, when considered collectively with impacts from other past, present, or reasonably foreseeable future projects, cumulative. EFSEC is currently moving forward with discussions with the
See EFSEC page A8
Klickitat County farm owner fined for fraud
Senior Services offers multiple benefits The annual Klickitat County Senior Services (KCSS) Senior Citizen Picnic was held in Daubenspeck Park in Bingen on August 25. The event was a day for local seniors to relax in the park, listen to live music, and enjoy some food. The event also celebrated the many professionals and volunteers who work for KCSS. They provide a multitude of services for seniors and also adults with disabilities in the area. Les Donaldson was one of the seniors who was enjoying the music that day while sitting in a lawn chair in the shade. He’s lived in White Salmon for 51 years where he once owned an auto parts store. “Then the spotted owl came, and all the lumber shut down, so I sold out and went to drive a school bus for White Salmon Valley schools,” he said. He drove school buses for 11 years until he got thyroid cancer, and they wouldn’t let him drive anymore. “The neatest thing that ever happened to this town is that they dedicated the bus barn to Sharon Shalk when she was still alive,” said Donaldson. Shalk was the former transportation su-
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on the shoulder and losing control. The driver was able to swim safely to shore. About three and a half hours later, another semi hit an ODOT car and tore off the highway; investigators said the driver fell asleep at the wheel. The ODOT car had no one in it at the time, and the truck driver in that accident also escaped injury. In both cases, the trucks crashed through guard rails along I-84. It took divers and a very large crane to remove the trucks from the river. I-84 westbound was closed from Biggs to Celilo.
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
STRANGE KIND OF FISHING: Looking like an enormous fishing pole, a large crane tugs at one of the two semi trucks that went off I-84 into the Columbia River at Biggs over the weekend.
Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced Wednesday, August 23, that the United States had successfully obtained a $607,284 fraud judgment against Rick T. Gray (Gray) and Gray Farms & Cattle Co. LLC (Gray Farms) for submitting false and fraudulent claims for crop insurance for farm businesses owned by Gray in Klickitat County, Washington. The Court determined that Gray and Gray Farms were liable under the False Claims Act for defrauding the federal crop insurance program and imposed the maximum damages and penalties sought by the United States. The federal crop insurance program, run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides a mechanism through which participating farm owners may obtain monetary subsidies and financial protection against losses to their crops. If a participating farm owner experiences loss due to weather or other factors, the farm owner may submit a claim for indemnity from those losses. Crucial to participation in the program is that the farm owner must disclose all sales of product during a given crop year. In 2015, Gray submitted claims for loss on behalf of his farm businesses and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in indemnity payments. In September 2021, the United States filed a Complaint pursuant to the False Claims Act, a federal statute that protects the public from fraud against federal programs, alleging that Gray had submitted false crop insurance claims during 2015 by knowingly failing to disclose tens of thousands of bushels of wheat that Gray sold during that crop year, and affirmatively misrepresenting his wheat production and sales for the year. In a judicial order dated August 21, 2023, United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice granted summary judgment on behalf of the United States with respect to the United States’ False Claims Act claims, finding that the undisputed evidence
See Gray page A8